This invention relates to carton erecting apparatus for setting up foldable carton blanks having side and end panels and top and bottom flaps integral therewith and, more particularly, to apparatus for setting up carton blanks which are supplied to the apparatus in knocked-down form, and subsequently folding their bottom flaps.
Conventional fordable shipping containers of the rectangular four-flap type are typically manufactured from a single piece of cardboard, corrugated board, or the like cut into a predetermined pattern and provided with indented fold lines to facilitate folding into a rectangular carton. The manufacturer usually folds the cardboard pattern once to bring opposite edges together and then joins these two edges, such as with a strip of adhesive tape for example, to thereby form what is commonly known as a "manufacturer's joint". When the carton is set up for use, the manufacturer's joint is at a corner defined by the meeting of an end panel and a side panel of the carton.
The carton manufacturer ships the carton blank in this compact form, each carton blank being a sheet of corrugated board folded in half and having the free ends joined by a manufacturer's joint. This compact folded configuration is designated in the art, and in the following specification and claims, by the term "knocked-down". Upon receipt by the user, each carton must be set up by opening it to a rectangular shape and then folding the bottom flaps inwardly to a closed position. The bottom flaps are then typically maintained in the closed position by gluing, by a strip of gummed or pressure-sensitive tape, or by stapling. The present invention is directed toward apparatus for setting up four-flap fordable cartons of the type known as RSC (regular slotted carton), HSC (half slotted carton), half telescope and the like.
The previously known apparatus designed for setting up and closing the bottom of such carton blanks, which are supplied as a knocked-down or collapsed tubularly formed carton or carton blank having side panels and bottom flaps and top flaps which are integral with the said sides, comprises a support which carries a magazine for the carton blanks, a feeding unit for pulling out and feeding a carton blank and a bottom closing means for folding in and possibly sealing the bottom flaps before the carton is filled. The feeding unit comprises a pneumatically acting catcher that is mounted perpendicularly to the feeding path and it is extendable so as to be able to catch a carton blank, pull same out of the magazine and together with the carton blank move along a feeding path while the carton is set up to tubular form and the bottom flaps are infolded. At this stage the catcher is disengaged from the carton and moves back to catch another carton. In the previously known apparatus there is a first linear motion towards and away from the magazine to grasp and set up the carton and a second linear motion perpendicular to the first linear motion to deliver the set-up carton from the apparatus. These two linear motions necessitate a substantial increase in the exterior dimensions of the apparatus. Examples of such apparatus are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. Re. 27,361 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,285,679.
The present invention is an alternative embodiment and specifically improves upon the carton erecting apparatus disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,632,666 and 4,892,513, which patents have the same assignee as the present invention. The carton erecting apparatus disclosed in these patents includes a carton blank storage section, a carton setup section and a bottom flap folding section. The carton blank storage section includes a magazine for storing and urging knocked-down carton blanks in a substantially vertical orientation towards the carton setup section.
The carton setup section includes a carton opening assembly mounted therein. The carton opening assembly has a folding arm assembly and a pivot arm assembly. The folding arm assembly is pivotal about a substantially vertical shaft secured to a carriage plate and is movable between a first position generally parallel to the side panel of the forward carton blank in the magazine assembly and a second position generally perpendicular to the side panel of the carton. The pivot arm assembly is pivotally secured to the folding arm assembly and is movable between a first position substantially parallel to the folding arm assembly and a second position substantially perpendicular to the folding arm assembly.
A grasping means including at least one suction cup is secured to the pivot arm assembly for grasping the side panel of the forward carton blank from the magazine arrangement when the pivot arm assembly and the folding arm assembly are in their first positions. Subsequent movement of the pivot arm assembly and the folding arm assembly into their second positions is effective to set up the carbon blank into a tubular form with an end panel thereof in contact with the folding arm assembly.
The bottom flap folding means includes a flap kicker assembly pivotally mounted within the carton setup section for infolding the trailing bottom end flap of the setup carton. A longitudinally extending plough member and a pair of converging side plough bars are mounted in the bottom flap folding section for respectively infolding the leading bottom end flap and the bottom side flaps of the setup carton as the carton travels through the bottom flap folding section.
A carriage assembly is mounted in the bottom flap folding section for movement in a direction transverse to the direction of movement of the carton blanks in the carton blank storage assembly. The carriage assembly is movable between a first position within the bottom flap folding section and a second position extending into the carton setup section. A longitudinally extending plough member is mounted on the carriage assembly and movable therewith for infolding the leading bottom end flap of a setup carton in the carton setup section as the carriage assembly moves into its second position.
A pair of spaced-apart carton receiving assemblies is mounted to the carriage assembly and movable therewith one on either side of the plough member. These assemblies include a plurality of longitudinally spaced roller members for grasping the side panels of a setup carton in the carton setup section as the carriage assembly moves into its second position and the delivery of same to the bottom flap folding section as the carriage assembly returns to its first position. A pair of converging side plough bars is mounted within the bottom flap folding section for infolding the bottom side flaps as the carriage assembly returns to its first position.
In the carton erecting apparatus disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,892,513, additional grasping means are provided for grasping both of the side panels and an end panel to cradle the carton on three sides and keep it square during the erection thereof. A first suction cup assembly is mounted to the pivot arm assembly for grasping a side panel, a second suction cup assembly is mounted to the folding arm assembly for grasping an end panel and third suction cup assembly is mounted to the folding arm assembly for grasping the other side panel. The second suction cup assembly is mounted generally along the longitudinal center line of the carton setup section. The third suction cup assembly is mounted so as to permit transverse adjustment thereof depending upon the width of the carton being erected.